Ten Years Ago Today, item 21

• December 12, 2016 01:32:33 Sue Bryant

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  consented to fire six rounds into the trench

  now  there was only one spot where he could

  train his little gun on to this trench and that

  was close to a bombing stop in a trench running

  between our trench and the German’s.

  A bombing stop consisted of a part of

  the communicating trench being filled up and

  smothered with barbed wire. This communicating

  trench had originally been a communication

  trench between the two lines of trenches when

  both trenches  were in British hands or both in

  German hands. I don’t know which and it doesn’t

  matter. Then at some later date when one trench

  had been taken by one or the other side, this

  part in the middle had been filled in & covered

  with wire to prevent raiding parties getting

  along into the main trench.

  We got along to the stop and then found that to

  train his gun and load would necessitate exposing either

  himself or one of his men. So to facilitate this

  operation I crouched up against the stop and

  slowly fired six rounds from my revolver at

  the trench when we suspected the Germans were.

  Then he fired. Whether it did any damage we couldn’t

  say but it at last showed our friends across the

  way that someone was beginning to set up and take

  repeated about six times and if we didn’t hit

  anything I expect it annoyed them.

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